RIGHTS OF THE PROPHET (PBUH)

BEING THE SECOND SERMON FOR THE MONTH OF R/AWWAL, 12TH R. AWWAL/1439AH (1/DEC/2017CE)RIGHTS OF THE PROPHET (PBUH)
Praise be to Allah. We praise and thank Him, we believe and depend on him. We seek his refuge from the evil of ourselves and our deeds. Whomever Allah guides is truly guided and whomever He misleads none can guide. I testify there is no god but Allah alone and that our leader- Muhammad (pbuh) is his servant and messenger who came to plant the tree of brotherliness among Muslims, and joined as brothers between the Muhajirun and the Ansar. O Allah shower peace and blessings on him, his household, companions and whoever follow their guidance and footsteps till the day of accountability.

Having said that,
Worshipers of Allah, I enjoin you and myself to fear Allah, the Almighty- this is a basic foundation for faith in the hearts of believers. Allah says:يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ (آل عمران: 102).“O you who have believed, fear Allah as He should be feared and do not die except as Muslims [in submission to Him]. ” ( 3: 102 ) .
Dear faithful, being the second sermon in the month of Rabiul Awwal, two earlier sermons was dedicated to discuss, The Prophet (PBUH) Our Role Model; and Celebrating birthday of the prophet (pbuh); history, conditions and etiquettes, we shall dedicate today’s sermon to talk on the: THE RIGHTS OF THE PROPHET (PBUH).

Dear Muslims, there are several rights of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) upon the Muslims as follow:
1- True believe in him and all he brought: Allah says: “So believe in Allah and His Messenger and the Qur’an which We have sent down. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do.” (64: 8) “So believe in Allah and His Messenger, the unlettered prophet, who believes in Allah and His words, and follow him that you may be guided.” (7: 158). “ O you who have believed, fear Allah and believe in His Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy and make for you a light by which you will walk and forgive you; and Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (57: 28). “And whoever has not believed in Allah and His Messenger – then indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers a Blaze.” (48: 13). The Prophet (pbuh) said: “I have been commanded to confront people till they testify there is no god except Allah, and believe in me and what I brought.” (Muslim).

The belief in him refers to believing in his prophethood, that Allah sent him to the Jinns and mankind, and to belief in all he brought and professed, and to exercise this belief in words and actions. Where this belief involves the heart, words and action, then faith in the Prophet is complete.

2- The duty to obey him and be wary of disobedience to him: If it is essential to believe in him and what came with, then, it essential as well to obey him, because that is part of what he brought. Allah says: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ أَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلاَ تَوَلَّوْا عَنْهُ وَأَنتُمْ تَسْمَعُونَ) “O you who have believed, obey Allah and His Messenger and do not turn from him while you hear [his order].” (8: 20)(فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَن تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ)” So let those beware who dissent from the Prophet’s order, lest fitnah strike them or a painful punishment.” (24: 63) (وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ * وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَتَعَدَّ حُدُودَهُ يُدْخِلْهُ نَارًا خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَلَهُ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ) “… and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] under which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great attainment. (14) And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses His limits – He will put him into the Fire to abide eternally therein, and he will have a humiliating punishment.
” (4: 13-14). Narrated by Abu hurairah (R.A) that the messenger of Allah (pbuh) says: “He who obeys me obeys Allah, and he who disobeys me disobeys Allah.” (Bukhari/ Muslim).

3- Following him and making him the role mole in all matters: Allah says: (قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ) “Say, [O Muhammad], “If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” (3: 31). Allah also says: (وَاتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ) “and follow him that you may be guided.” (7: 158). It is necessary to tread on the guidance and commitment of his sunnah, and beware of contradicting him. The prophet, peace be upon him, said: [Whoever neglect my sunnah is not of me] (Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim).

4- Loving him (peace be upon him) more than the wife, child, parents and people in general: Allah says: (قُلْ إِن كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُواْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ وَاللَّهُ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ) “Say, [O Muhammad], “If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.” (9: 24). The prophet (peace be upon him) said: “None of you [truly] believes until I am more beloved to him than his child, his parent and all people.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari]. `Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) once said to him, “O Messenger of Allah! You are more beloved to me than everything except myself.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, “No, by the One in whose hand is my soul – not until I am more beloved to you than yourself.” Then `Umar said, “Now, by Allah, you are more beloved to me than myself.” So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Now [you have believed], `Umar.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari]

Anas bin Malik (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “There are three qualities whoever has them, will taste the sweetness of Iman: To love Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) more than anyone else; to love a slave (of Allah) only for (the sake of) Allah; and to hate returning to infidelity after Allah has saved him from it as he would hate to be thrown into the fire (of Hell).”

Of the signs of the love of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is manifested in emulating him as our model, following his sunnah, commands, desisting from his warnings, emulating his morals, in difficult and times of ease. Surely whoever loves something is influenced by it, otherwise his claim is false.

5- Revering him and supporting him: Allah says: “Indeed, We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. That you [people] may believe in Allah and His Messenger and honor him and respect the Prophet and exalt Allah morning and afternoon.” [48:8-9]. Allah says: (﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لا تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ) “O you who have believed, do not put [yourselves] before Allah and His Messenger but fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Knowing.” (49: 1). Honouring him after his death is same as he was alive whenever his hadith or name is mentioned, and in the listening to his history and studying his sunnah, as well as calling to the sunnah and supporting it.

6- Invoking Allah’s blessings upon him whenever he is mentioned:

Allah has ordered believers to invoke blessings on him, saying: “Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [Allah to grant him] peace.” [33:56] And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “May the nose be rubbed in dirt of a man who, when I am mentioned before him, does not invoke blessings upon me.” [Narrated by Muslim]

And he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The closest of people to me on the Day of Resurrection will be the ones who invoked blessings on me the most.” [Narrated by at-Tirmidhi]

And, “The stingy one is he before whom I am mentioned and does not invoke blessings on me.” [Narrated by at-Tirmidhi] It is indeed discourtesy for a Muslim to hear the mention of Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and then be too miserly to invoke blessings on him.

There are several places and situations where the invocation of blessing upon the prophet is recommended as mention by Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim in Jalaa Al-Afhaam, where he mentioned forty- one of such.

7- Necessity of accepting his judgement on all matters: Allah says: (﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنْكُمْ فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً) “O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result.” (4: 59). Allah says also: (فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ حَرَجًا مِمَّا قَضَيْتَ وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا) “( 65 ) But no, by your Lord, they will not [truly] believe until they make you, [O Muhammad], judge concerning that over which they dispute among themselves and then find within themselves no discomfort from what you have judged and submit in [full, willing] submission.” (4: 65). After his death, the judgement will be derived from his sunnah.

8- Placing him in his right status without excesses or contempt: He is a servant to Allah, a messenger of Allah, he is the most honoured of the Prophets, leader of all mankind, … despite that, he is a mortal who has no power to benefit or harm himself or others except what Allah wishes. Allah says: (قُل لاَّ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِي خَزَآئِنُ اللَّهِ وَلا أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ وَلا أَقُولُ لَكُمْ إِنِّي مَلَكٌ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلاَّ مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ…) “Say, [O Muhammad], “I do not tell you that I have the depositories [containing the provision] of Allah or that I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I only follow what is revealed to me.” (6: 50). Allah also says: (قُل لاَّ أَمْلِكُ لِنَفْسِي نَفْعًا وَلاَ ضَرًّا إِلاَّ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ وَلَوْ كُنتُ أَعْلَمُ الْغَيْبَ لاَسْتَكْثَرْتُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ وَمَا مَسَّنِيَ السُّوءُ إِنْ أَنَاْ إِلاَّ نَذِيرٌ وَبَشِيرٌ لِّقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ) “Say, “I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except what Allah has willed. And if I knew the unseen, I could have acquired much wealth, and no harm would have touched me. I am not except a warner and a bringer of good tidings to a people who believe.” (7:188). The prophet- peace be upon him, died as the prophets before him did, though his religion remains till the day of resurrection. Allah says: (إِنَّكَ مَيِّتٌ وَإِنَّهُمْ مَيِّتُونَ) “ Indeed, you are to die, and indeed, they are to die.” (39:30).

SECOND KHUTBAH
All praises are due to Allah, the lord of the worlds. May the peace and blessing of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad, his household, companions and believers till the end of time.

As to what follows,
Dear faithful, the 1st of December is regarded as the World Aids Day by the UNO. We would therefore used this golden opportunity to talk about AIDS from the Islamic perspective.

AIDS from the Islamic perspective.
Islam has follows preventive method in its legislation, and it precedes pre-emptive medicine for about One thousand four hundred years. It ordered the elimination of obscenity before the spread and of crime before its emergence, and that prevented crime and confronted it. Thus when the criminals commit crimes they must be punished with deterring punishments stipulated by the Prophet’s Sunnah such as whipping and stoning of adulterers, killing of homosexuals etc. The Prophet – peace be upon him said: “Whoever you find involved in obscenity of the people of Lut, slain the performer and the co-performer”.

The scholars unanimously agree on the prohibition of homosexuality but differed in the way of killing. Some said that he should be thrown from a tall height, and some said he should be stoned to death. The punishment may seem cruel, but it is an appropriate punishment for the crime, in order to rid society of the carriers of the epidemic (the source of the epidemic). And free the patient from the torment of the disease.

In 1981, where the first five cases were found in five of the homosexuals. In 1993, the rate of infected people reached 15 million HIV carriers, and two and a half million persons infected with AIDS in only 12 years, a very high percentage, indicating that the danger is infiltrating all the cities of the world warning against the terrible killer threatening millions with deaths (and most of the affected victims are between the ages of 15-55 years which is the age of productivity).

And now that we know about AIDS and it being a divine punishment that led to destruction of many societies, we want to know ways of prevention and elimination of AIDS:1- Chastity as mentioned in the Holy Quran: Allah says: (الذين هم لفروجهم حافظون إلا على أزواجهم أو ما ملكت أيمانهم فانهم غير ملومين، فمن ابتغى وراء ذلك فأولئك هم العادون) “And they who guard their private parts. Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed – But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors.” (23: 5-7)

This is the first major factor to prevent this disease and all other diseases.2- Holding firm to the religion and abiding by its teaching:
3- Dissemination of religious teachings, including the provisions of halal and haram, and health awareness.
4- Forbidding evil and confronting its perpetrators and eliminating all apparent and concealed acts of obscenity.
5- Severing all advances that lead to obscenity through thorough censorship of all media outlets, prints and electronic and freeing it from all cultures and manners antithetical to the religion.
6- Combating crime and criminals by establishing the Hudud- prescribed punishments of the shariah.
7- Facilitating means of legitimate marriage and encourage people to satisfy their sexual instinct in a safe and secure way to preserve the offspring and the land. Because all the figures published so far confirm the existence of a direct correlation between the degree of pornography and addiction and the prevalence of AIDS.
8- Emphasize the family system, supporting it by all means, especially after the emergence of ideas contrary the family system in recent years.
9- Commitment to medically recommended methods of prevention which affirm the fact that AIDS is transmitted from one person to another due to three main reasons:

Sexual relations if one of the parties is affected.

Transfusion of contaminated blood to healthy person.

The infected mother who transmits the disease through pregnancy, labour and breast feeding.

Oh Allah descend peace; flowing with continuous tranquility and security upon Nigeria and all other Muslim nations. O Allah accept the worship of the pilgrims of hajj and Umrah, and grant us all Your pleasure, And the last of our call will be, “Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds!”